Ezra POV
I should have forgotten the kiss.
It had been brief.
A mistake, if I wanted to call it one.
Nothing that should have followed me out of the Circle.
And yet, hours later, I could still feel it.
I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of my apartment, watching Asteria glow beneath me.
The city never truly slept.
Neither did I.
But tonight, I couldn't seem to settle.
My fingers brushed my lips.
Ridiculous.
I lowered my hand immediately.
I had kissed women before.
Beautiful women.
Powerful women.
Women who knew exactly who I was and what my name could buy them.
None of them had stayed in my thoughts after the door closed.
Rita had.
Rita Rain.
The name the Circle knew.
But that wasn't the woman I kept remembering.
I remembered the woman underneath it.
The way she laughed when she wasn't trying to impress anyone.
The way she challenged me without realizing how unusual that was.
The way she looked at me after our kiss.
Not frightened.
Not impressed.
Curious.
That was what bothered me.
She was curious about me.
And somehow, I was even more curious about her.
I poured myself a drink and leaned against the counter.
I should have left her alone.
That would have been the sensible thing.
Instead, I found myself thinking about the Circle.
About the VIP room.
About her hand in mine.
About the moment she stopped performing.
Rita didn't realize how different she was when she wasn't on that stage.
There was something raw about her.
Not fragile.
Never fragile.
She had survived enough to become sharp around the edges.
But underneath that sharpness was something I couldn't name yet.
Something I wanted to understand.
My phone vibrated on the counter.
A message from Zhi.
You seemed interested tonight.
I stared at it.
Then another message appeared.
Very interested.
I almost smiled.
Zhi had known me long enough to recognize when something had caught my attention.
I typed one word.
Rita.
The response came almost immediately.
I figured.
I set the phone down.
My gaze returned to the city.
There was something else I hadn't told Zhi.
Something I hadn't admitted to myself until now.
I didn't want another night with Rita.
I wanted more than a night.
And that was precisely the problem.
The Circle had rules.
Patrons had arrangements.
Everything had a price.
Everything had boundaries.
But Rita?
She didn't feel like something that could be reduced to either.
I wanted to reserve her time.
Not because I wanted to own her.
Because I wanted to know that when I walked into the Circle, she would be there.
For me.
The thought made something unfamiliar tighten in my chest.
Possessiveness.
I didn't like it.
But I couldn't deny it.
I picked up my phone again.
Opened her contact.
Stared at her name.
I could call.
I could send a message.
Instead, I locked the screen.
Not yet.
If I approached her again too quickly, she'd think the kiss was all I wanted.
It wasn't.
That realization surprised me more than anything.
I wanted to hear her laugh again.
I wanted to see what she was like when nobody was watching.
I wanted another kiss.
But more than that…
I wanted Rita to choose me.
And I had never been particularly good at waiting for what I wanted.
This time, however, I would.
Because something told me Rita Rain was worth the wait.
My phone vibrated again.
This time, it was Zhi.
She accepted.
I stared at the message.
For the first time that night, I smiled.
Rita had accepted my patronage.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket and looked out over the city.
I had expected satisfaction.
Instead, I felt anticipation.
Because now, I had a reason to see her again.
And this time, I wouldn't have to wonder if she'd be waiting for me.